Improvement in carpet-stretchers



E.` P. SHAFFER.

A Improvement in Carpet-Stretchers. No. :114,05-3. PafentedAprnzns'n.

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@anni (time EDWARD P. SHAFFER, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

Letters Patent No. 114,053, dated April 25, 1871.

IMPROVEMENT IN CARPET-STRETCHERS.

Thi Schedulereferred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

I, EDWARD P. SHAFFEP., of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of N ew York, have invented certain Improvements in Oal'petv-Stretchels, 7 of which the ibllowing is"a specification.

My invention relates to a device for straining carpets during th'e process of fastening them to floors;

and consists, mainly, in the use of a rocking tenterho'oli, reciprocated upon a frame by means of a handlever, and operating in connection with suitable dogs lwhich hold the frame to the floor.

In the drawing- Figure l is a sectional side elevation of my invention.

Figure 2 is an inverted plan View.

The base plate A is slotted for a portion of its length to receive the reciprocatingr block C, which is fitted to slide easily thereon, and which supports the oscillating tenter-head a.

This tenter-head swings upon a pivot passing through its shank f and into the block O, as shown in g. 1, and is provided with several sharp points t, figs. 1 and 2, which pierce and retain the carpet.

A link, d, connects the tentenhead to a hand-lever,- B, which is pivoted at its lower extremity to a suitable part of the base A.

Dogs c are secured to the extreme end of the base plate, and are suiieiently pointed to permit them to enter the door readily.

It will be observed that 'a motion of the lever B in the direction of'the arrow, fig. 1, forces the tenterhead forward, about its pivoting point, till its shank meets a shoulder or stop upon the block C, when a continuation of such motion causes both tenter-head and block to move forward toward the dogs c. llhus the. point-s 'i enter the carpet at an angle with the floor, but n'pon obtaining a hold upon the fabric assume a horizontal` position, as indicated -by dotted lines iu fig. 1.

oted to the lever B, as indicated in'dotted lines in fig. 1.

I prefer to offset the pivoting point of the link d upon the hand-lever, whereby, when the lever is pushed down to the horizontal position shown in dotted lines, and the block O and tenter-head are at the forward part of their stroke, the pivot center of the link and lower end of the hand-leverwill be nearly or quite in the same straight line and the tenter-head thus locked at such extreme point.

It will be noticed, also, that by the act of forcing the lever forward a certain amount of downward pressure is exerted upon the base plate, vby means of which the dogs care forced into the door; whence it follows that the greater the power applied to stretch the carpet the more rigidly the dogs retain their hold.

The operation and mode of using my invention are as follows:

The carpet having been fastened at one side of the room, the dogs c of thetstretcher are pressed slightly into the vdoor by the foot of the operator, close to the base board upon the opposite side, the inner exftremity of the base A resting upon ,the carpetfasfindicated in fig. 1. The hand-lever 'B is then'drawn up to the extremity of its stroke, which operation' tilts the tenter-headupon its axis, lbringing the teeth tin-l to an angular position with relation to vthe floor,'as shown infull lines, lig. 1. If the lever-is now forced forward the end of the link at rests upon the. guide b till a small portion of such movement of B and ais completed, and as it leaves the edge of the guide the' tenter-head assumes a horizontal position, (indicated by dotted lines.) By this means the` inclination of the teeth is continued long enough to enable them to pierce the heaviest material before the tenter-head begins to draw upon it, and immediately swing npward away from the floor.

Thus further'motiou imparted to the lever B forces the teeth t' entirely through the carpet lying underneath and stretches it to` therequired point, being held there by means of the ratchet D and pawl, or by the-rectilinear position of the pivot centers of d and B, as above described, till tacked or otherwise secured to the door.

Another method of supporting and guiding the tenter-head a may consist in forming gudgeons upon each side of the shank f, which move in ways or grooves provided iu the base plate, thus dispensing with the guide-block C.

I may also use, in' place of the guide b, a spring, attached either to the link d or tenter-head, the tension of which shall be suicient to retain the latter in its inclined position till the teeth have penetrated the fabric. The teeth i are preferably circular in section, and finished smoothly so as not to inj nre the texture ofthe carpet.

In the carpet-stretchers heretofore in use the tenter-hooks have usually been rigid, and consequently could not accommodate themselves to different thicknesses of material, generally tearing out the pile of costly carpets or otherwise injuring their fabric. The use of the oscillating tenter-hook a wholly avoids this trouble, since the teeth are caused to penetrate entirely through the vcarpet before they begin to stretch it, the thoroughness of this action being insured by the guide-plete b.

I do ,not mean to confine myself to the particular form of bese plate, tenter-head, or dogs c, vherein shown, as other equivalent forms may be used, operating in the same manner. j

lt may he desirable .to adjust the rear end of the base A vertically, and thereby. prevent they tenter either from gouging the oor or from only partly penetrating the carpet. 'This may be effected by e tlmmb-screw7 n, shown in dotted lines in g. l, or by other equivalent means.

mer in en inclined position during. the rst part of the stroke oi' the tenter, for the purposes set forth. EDWARD P. SHAFFER.

Witnesses A. H. SARGENT, F. H. CLEMENT. 

